Childrens Literature Timeline and Paper Eng 290

Children and adults alike savor children’s literature, which is also a meaningful part of Western Culture. Children’s literature has many unforgettable effects on many individuals existence attest to its prevalent significance and invites intellectual attention. The genre of children’s literature originates from a form of folk literature in many early periods of history. A significant amount of individuals are passing on the legacies from generation to generation. These legacies are the first form of children’s literature.

The 17th century plays a major role in children’s literature in many aspects. During the 17th century the Puritans’ main interests was in education, and the Puritans thought education was the best course for the young children. On the contrary, the Puritans came to the conclusion that some literature supports immortality and did not refer to learning. The Puritans teach their children centered on following their moral principles (Russell, 2009). John Locke and educational philosopher provided a solid influence on the 17th Century literature. According to Russell (2009), Locke’s belief is that children hold a capacity to learn if they receive education in a suitable environment favorable to learning.

Another major influence on children’s literature in the Western Culture was the eighteenth and early nineteenth century. In the mid-eighteenth century, John Newbery provided the idea of writing books solely for children providing the objective of entertainment. John Newbery wrote a book in 1744 called “A Little Pretty Pocket Book,” that gave inspiration to other authors to write children’s books. Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) took moral development into consideration and explains that moral development should be in books to express these values, as found in his popular work Little Goody Two Shoes. During the 19th century authors during this period reinvented and printed old folktales. Some of these stories include “Little Red Riding Hood,...